Teamed up with God

Alistair - Christian Science Sentinel, May 5, 2008

Photo: A. Alioto, Football & Background: VSTOCKSTOCK/ INDEXOPEN.COCOM

Knowing that God takes care of me, whatever I’m doing, has been really helpful in my life—especially when my schedule at school gets stressful and other things come up.

Athletics are a big part of my life. I play defensive positions on my high school’s lacrosse and football teams. The atmosphere before games can be pretty intense. That is when I like to take a little time by myself to mentally review my game responsibilities, plus think about God, my relationship to Him, and how I can reflect Him during the game. Sometimes I say the Lord’s Prayer to myself. One time I even said it aloud, quietly, with a fellow teammate of a different religion.

When I first started playing lacrosse, I used to be very nervous before games. So I would think that God had no fear and the only thing I could reflect was confidence. This helped me calm down and be more focused. As the season progressed, I found myself becoming more relaxed and confident. Also, when I would get tired, I would think of God as infinite strength. This helped my endurance.

Other thoughts I have included in my prayers are that God has given me the power to play to the best of my ability and to move quickly on the field, because I’m His image and likeness. Also, that because I reflect the intelligence of God, I can remember the plays and not make a mental mistake.

It’s been helpful for me to remember that God is always in charge, even if I’m in an unfamiliar place. I’ve definitely grown in terms of praying on my own. One time, back in eighth grade, I went on a school trip to Virginia, several hundred miles away from my home. 
We stayed in a hotel, and it was the first time I’d been that far away from home without my family. One of the activities I was really looking forward to was a dance that had been planned for us by the hotel staff.

On the day of the dance, I had a severe headache, unlike anything I’d experienced before, and didn’t feel well enough to participate in the night’s activities. Many of my friends were trying to be helpful and offered me different pain medications. But because I’d always handled problems through prayer in the past and had quick healings, I thanked my friends and said I didn’t want the medicine. Instead, I told them, I would pray for some healing ideas.

As I lay on my bed at the hotel, one of my teachers came by and told me to come and get her if I needed anything. She said she would sit with me if I wanted her to. My thoughts went back to when I was little and my mother would sit nearby and pray for me when I wasn’t feeling well. So I decided to pray for myself.

One of the things I thought about was the Lord’s Prayer—especially the part that says, “Thy kingdom come,” and the spiritual interpretation of that part, by Mary Baker Eddy: “Thy kingdom is come; Thou art ever-present” (Science and Health, p. 16). This was very helpful. I’d learned in Sunday School to think of God as my Mother and Father, and it felt good knowing that I had my true Parent with me. These thoughts helped calm me down, and I fell asleep for about an hour.

When I woke up, the pain was gone, and I felt fine. I sat up, swung my feet over the bed, and started to stand up. My teacher, who was in the room at that time, was concerned that I might not be well enough to get up, and asked me to wait a few minutes. I assured her that I was well. She seemed surprised that I was better so quickly, so I told her a little about Christian Science and how I used prayer to help me.

Then I changed my clothes and ran downstairs to the dance. I had a great night. At one point, I remember thinking, “Wow, Christian Science works!“

This entry was posted on Monday, January 5th, 2009 at 9:48 am and is filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response.